INDIE ANIMATION SHOWCASE: Lackadaisy

This masterpiece of independent animation brings together animated worlds in an unforgettable tale from the roaring 20s.

Based off of the popular webtoon set in Prohibition-era Deep South, the pilot of Lackadaisy has been seen by many indie animation fans as one of the finest animated shorts on Youtube, and at the time of writing, has garnered 12 million views since it was uploaded in March 2023. PHOTO: Lackadaisy Tracy/X (@LackadaisyCats)

POV: It's the height of the Prohibition in the heart of the American Deep South. A group of cats, one of which is a master performer whose family belongs to a group of bootleggers, the other being part of a rival gang out to get anyone with a stash of alcohol.

Is this a videogame? Or something that's straight out of Japanese anime that happens to be set in the West during the 1920s? Well. this does sound like one but it really isn,t.

What this really refers to is the premise of the independent animated short film Lackadaisy, based on the webtoon of the same title by Tracy J. Butler.

There are so many things that left me impressed by this short. One of these standouts for me is the artstyle of the animation. The art is for me a major aspect of this film as it really fits into every change in the plot's flow. The film's opening, a love letter to the mighty Missisipi, glows with absolute delight as it carries the charm of heartland culture. However as the plot starts to make a dramatic shift, so does the film's art style. As the intense car chase gets underway, the style changes to drastically to reflect the tension and thrill of the high intensity action sequence.

Perhaps what struck me the most about this film is the fact that Lackadaisy perfectly intertwines the worlds of Japanese and Western animation into what I consider to be a masterpiece in the world of indie toons. This perfectly blends together the magic and emotion of Studio Ghibli and many Japanese animations with the historical feels of popular period pieces such as Bridgerton, the Red Dead Redemption game series, or Spy x Family, as well as the action thriller elements that have become the hallmarks of animes like Jiujitsu Kaisen and Mob Pshyco 100, as well as their Western equivalents such as The Owl House, as there are many exciting twists and turns that pack the entirity of this half hour pilot episode.

Every minute of this is brimming with so much raw emotion and a sense of immersion into the world of Lackadaisy as they come provided with the impressive design of the characters and the setting of this pilot in which Wes Anderson would have loved to discover and explore.

With all these factors in mind, it's very easy for animation aficionados the world over have looked up to Lackadaisy since its initial upload in March. This really is a masterpiece that speaks very dearly to fans of indie animation, which makes it one of the best indie animated projects on Youtube in 2023.

No matter if you are a newcomer to the world of Youtube indie animators, or someone who has followed this Internet animation revolution for the past few years and marvelled at the progress these creators have made, or perhaps someone like me, who crossed over to the world of indie cartoons from mainstream animation whether Japanese or Western, Lacadaisy has everything you'll ever need to begin appreciating Internet indie cartoons.

If you liked this, then definitely give Hazbin Hotel, Helluva Boss, and The Amazing Digital Circus a shot in order to explore more of the wonderful world of YouTube independent animation

You can see more Lackadaisy on these social media pages.

https://www.instagram.com/lackadaisycats/

https://twitter.com/LackadaisyFilm

https://twitter.com/LackadaisyCats

https://www.tumblr.com/lackadaisycats

https://discord.gg/lackadaisy

Audio tastemakers: Why I'm loving Anima Podcasts

Photo: https://www.facebook.com/animapodcasts

It is without a doubt that in Asia and the Philippines, on-demand audio has been on the rise with podcasts on every genre carrying real, honest, and unfiltered conversations about every aspect of life in a humorous or stories that captivate you and take you to a whole new dimension of storytelling.

Whatever it is you're into, there are podcasts that can truly make you engaged and bring wholesome on-demand entertainment that moves you and moves with you too. Because that is the true beauty of audio. It's great content that you can listen to while doing whatever your life needs you to do without requiring all of your senses.

And one of the best places to find this new wave of Filipino audio content creators is Anima Podcasts, the podcasting spin-off of the indie filmmaker Anima Productions. They have been at the forefront of the podcasting revolution in the Philippines by taking in an eclectic array of tastemakers in Pinoy podcasting. They even gave listeners a chance to meet the minds behind their fave podcasts and share with this amazing community at the first podcast festival in the country, Hear For It last October 20th at Glorietta Makati.

I have heard a lot about the event on social media and I was very interested in attending as I wanted to explore the world of podcasting in our country, meet some great local audio content creators and discover the power of hearing new podcasts that I have no interest in and never heard of. In short I was curious and wanted to hear what made these shows enjoyable for many people.

Unfortunately I did not attend, but at least I was still kinda curious, so I looked up the podcasters featured at the event and discovered that some of them are actually very interesting and I learned many cool things about life in general from hearing these shows and enjoying every minute of these wholesome conversations.

Here are two of the podcasts I have taken a dive into and enjoyed:

Intulectwalwal with Victor Anastacio

As an influential stand-up comedian, one of the heads behind Comedy Manila, and a talent of GMA Sparkle, Victor Anastacio has so much to say about life and people to talk to. He has a way of getting to know influencers, taking them away from the pre-fabricated social media landscape to share some honest talks about what they do and how they see the world, and a way to interact with his fellow stand-up comedians to share their ups and downs in life and whatever it is on their minds.

This is the pure essence of the podcast. You don't get just a plain old interview, uh-uh. You get a conversation that while often going off-tangent to insert some kind of joke or relating one experience to another, creates an experience that really makes you want to smile all your worries out as Victor and his guests discuss all kinds of crazy things in the world, from politics and conflicts to going on a fitness spree by working out and sweating more often to shave off some weight, then add a little honesty and personal experiences as well as a dash of intellect to create a smart, informative, and enlightening conversation.

Paano Ba 'To: The Podcast

So do you need a little morale boost in your life? Have you listened to the likes of Michelle Obama and Jay Shetty? Are you looking for a different and relatable perspective to help you through any personal personal challenges? Then here's a Pinoy motivational podcast to check out!

After years in the field of showbiz and media broadcasting, Bianca Gonzalez has taken a whole new direction in her life to make herself better, more content, and happier with everything in the world. And that's how she escaped her "panno ba to" moments of being stuck and finding a new life direction.

Blending her personal experiences with interviews with people who have had deep personal struggles, from big name celebrities and influencers to some of her own hard experiences in her personal life, you are sure to learn some new things about self-care, finding the joy in the everyday, and looking for opportunities whenever there are things that are holding you back. It will make you think about what you are going through and make you see setbacks from a whole other perspective to see how they moved forward and it makes you look for ways that you can apply these lessons of the stars to your own life.

REVIEW: Hamilton in Manila - a shot never wasted

It's one thing to hear the cast recording. But it's a whole different experience on stage.

Never throwing away my shot as the global cultural phenomenon lands in Manila (Photo courtesy of the author)

DISCLAIMER/PSA: This post is NOT SPONSORED in any way, shape, or form by GMG Productions (Philippines). I was not invited to see the show by the producers, nor did I pay for my own ticket to the show. A very good friend of mine treated me to this production along with a few of my good school friends. I am very grateful to one of my friends who treated me to watching this show.

What can I say about Lin-Manuel's Miranda's hip-hop musical Hamilton??? Ask me and I can say a lot of things about the impact of this show. It's revolutionary, it's groundbreaking, it's an international phenomenon that became a pop culture juggernaut. And it has a huge following here in the Philippines where one of our showbiz royalties, Rachelle Ann Go, became the original Eliza Hamilton stoking our Pinoy pride on stage. But even before that, Hamilton has become heavily followed globally since it first played on Broadway in 2015, with its unique blending of hip-hop and traditional Broadway songwriting, diverse casts, and the fandom it has developed. That's perhaps why ticket sales when the show's Manila run was announced was a feat unimaginable by any local or foreign theater show made before or since.

Of course, most of the world got their first exposures to Hamilton through the phenomenal award-winning cast recording, inspiring us in our tales of making our own revolutions to change the world, and even more so when the proshot with the original cast dropped on Disney+ in July 2020 within the midst of COVID-19 lockdowns and its impact on global performing arts. But while it's one thing to see and hear the original cast in recordings, it can make a much bigger impact when you see it in person, especially if you have seen it on Broadway or the West End or Australia in the past few years. as each cast has its own charm, personality, attitude, and style. The cast that came here was from the groundbreaking Australian tour, with a mix representing multiple countries including the US, UK, and South Africa. They have been delighting Aussie fans of the musical since 2021 and to add a uniquely Filipino flavor to the cast, Rachelle Ann Go reprised her original role in London, making this production a full circle homecoming.

But what makes this cast even more special and enjoyable in my eyes?

This version of Hamilton feels very personal and intimate to me, not only because of me seeing the show in person, but in the way the cast interacts with each other and the roles are executed. One example is Darnell Abraham, who played George Washington. You can easily tell that the character he portrays is one that truly cannot be messed with, especially one who's scale is outmanned, outplanned, and outnumbered. The war game in his portrayal is present throughout the show, as he put an even more determined set of emotions to a role that many Hamilton fans have grown accustomed to.

The Schuyler Sisters also brought in an energy that is even more flavorful than the original. Akina Edmonds brought an extra layer of spicyness and sassiness to the role of Angelica Schuyler. Her voice has a layer of extra spice and excitement especially in her song "Satisfied". And if Akina brings the spice, then our own Rachelle Ann Go complements that with the sweetness and bubbliness she brings as Eliza. The interactions between her and Jason Arrow (as the titular role of Alexander Hamilton) bring a whole new level of intimacy between the two characters.

However the real standout character of this production really isn't Hamilton or Washington or the Schuyler Sisters at all. It is actually the antagonist King George (Brent Hill) as he brings a sense of humor to the role originally portrayed by Jonathan Groff. The way he sang "You'll Be Back" has even more emotion than the original version and brings the whole theater to waves of laughter.

All in all, this production as with many other iterations of Hamilton across the globe have their own distinct attitudes, styles and ways of bringing this phenomenon to life. And I, along with many others who have seen this in its groundbreaking Philippine run, have been lucky to see this globally diverse and infinitely talented company that took the spirit of the original cast and brought it to a new level that left the Filipino audience spellbound, making them feel inspired to see our history in the same lens, making pieces of art that tells of who lives, who dies, and who tells your story. And because of this, I feel like I never threw away my shot to witness this global pop culture juggernaut live on stage. And I would also take this opportunity to wish the same for theater fans in Singapore and Abu Dhabi that if they could afford and have the means to by 2024, they should take the time to be a part of this revolution making waves across the globe. For this show told of who lived and died, and the world will continue to tell his story.